Hi Everyone,
Congratulations to all the athletes on the work they have been doing in the home-schooling environment. Some of your may have already gone back to school on Tuesday – celebrations all round including your parents who have been working so hard to assist you. The rest will return on Monday 9th June. This is just one more step into returning to what we remember as normal.
We are all gradually moving towards starting up our sporting pursuits. It does seem a long time since all this happened but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Some sports [mainly professional] have permission to resume but under strict conditions – eg AFL. The Victorian Institute of Sport is allowing their athletes to resume training at the VIS headquarters but under strict conditions and medical check-ups. Many of the things that the professional sports are implementing are not practical at the community sport level, so my message is to be patient.
At the Bendigo Academy we are working closely with each sporting body along with Sport Recreation Victoria to ensure any start up of the sports is safe. In addition, we must also adhere to the restrictions / parameters of the venues we utilise.
Currently we are developing processes to get our outdoor sports up and going within the appropriate guidelines – group limits, venue and facility management, activities and equipment protocols, appropriate physical distancing, health and hygiene measures.
Information regarding your specific sport will be forwarded out to each sports squad as processes evolve.
Selections into higher level squad [state teams etc]
I have had a few families contact me regarding this and I wish to assure all athletes that everyone in all sports is experiencing the same issues, so you won’t be the only one in this situation. In fact, the athletes who are in the Regional Academies programs are at an advantage as you are in the Victorian Regional Academies of Sport pathway. If selection trials for sport are unable to be held, we will be contacting your sport to inform them about you and your skills.
COVID-19
More state government restrictions are being lifted on June 1st and more to follow on June 22nd.
See attachment: Statement from the Premier
Return to Sport Guidelines – see end of Update #4
RECIPE: COMPLIMENTS AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT
PIKELETS
Try making some of these to cheer mum and dad up
https://ais.gov.au/nutrition/recipes/pikelets
Stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely
Graham Gordon
The following is a summary of the Return to Sport Guidelines:
The Victorian Government’s new Return to Play guidance sets out how and when your sport and recreation activity can return and provides assistance to help make that process viable, safe and successful.
Thanks to progress in slowing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), restrictions on sport and recreation activities have eased under the latest Restricted Activity Directions from the Victorian Chief Health Officer.
Under the current restrictions, sport and recreation activities can resume according to the following rules:
Current:
- Participants gather outdoors in groups of no more than 10 (or people from the same household), plus a coach or the minimum number of support staff reasonably required to run the activity
- Parents or other people are required to keep a reasonable distance or will be included in the group of 10.
- No indoor activity – indoor physical recreation facilities must remain closed
- Maintain physical distancing of 1.5 metres wherever reasonably possible
- All activity and training must be non-contact, and no competitions are to take place. Contact sports must be modified so that you can maintain 1.5m distance
- No outside communal gyms, playgrounds or skateparks can be used
- No outdoor or indoor swimming pools can be used.
- No use of communal facilities, except for toilets
- If the activity is run by an operator of an indoor physical recreation facility (such as a gym, health club or fitness centre), a personal training facility (indoors or outdoors) or an arena or stadium, then the operator must keep a record of attendees including first name, phone number, date and time of attendance
- No use of shared equipment that touches the head or face or cannot be effectively cleaned i.e. soft materials or clothing
- Hand hygiene, frequent environmental cleaning and disinfection, use of own equipment where possible and minimise sharing of equipment.
A full list of activities and current restrictions can be viewed below.
From 26 May, public playgrounds, outdoor gyms and skateparks will open with a maximum of 10 people allowed to use equipment at any one time.
From 1 June, restrictions on sport and exercise will be eased:
- Up to 20 people can participate in group sport and exercise activities but it must be outside and non-contact.
- Up to 20 people can use public playgrounds, outdoor gyms and skateparks
- Sport and exercise activities are only allowed if you can keep your distance (at least 1.5 metres apart) and they are not competitive
- Indoor and outdoor swimming pools can be opened to a maximum of 20 patrons per separate enclosed space, subject to the four square metre rule calculated on the publicly accessible area excluding the pool and a limit of 3 persons per lane in each pool.
From 22 June, restrictions on sport and exercise will be further eased to include:
- Indoor sports centres and venues can be opened with up to 20 people allowed per separate enclosed space, subject to the four square metre rule, with up to 10 people per group or activity
- Indoor physical recreation (e.g. gyms, health clubs, class fitness studios) can be opened with up to 20 people allowed per separate enclosed space, subject to the four square metre rule, with up to 10 people per group or activity
- Sport and exercise activities are only allowed if you can keep your distance (at least 1.5 metres apart) and they are not competitive
- All indoor venues will need to abide by existing physical distancing requirements of one person per four square metres.
Changes to these dates will be subject to the advice of the Chief Health Officer.
The Victorian Chief Health Officer’s new Directions allow professional sports access to otherwise restricted facilities for the purposes of training and engaging in professional sporting events. To resume activity, the onus is now on professional sporting organisations to put in place a comprehensive risk management and community safety plans, that mitigate the risks of coronavirus (COVID-19), in line with the Chief Health Officer’s directions.
State sporting associations will be supported in preparing return to play plans consistent with the Chief Health Officer’s Directions and the Community Sports Guidance Note. Clubs and organisations will be able to use these plans for the safety of participants, members, volunteers and staff.
The activities listed below are advice only and guide individual community sport and recreation organisations to better understand the type of activities that can be undertaken and whether operational adjustments to your activity should be considered. However, the rules are written so that community sport and recreation organisations can modify normal activities and play in such a way as to comply with the Victorian Chief Health Officer Directions.
All sports must maintain awareness of the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) environment and align current practices with informed decisions for athlete and other community sport member safety.
This advice is current and in place until 11:59pm Sunday 31 May 2020.
BAS Sports
Athletics
- Outdoor only.
- Full training.
- Recommend running in lanes to practice social distancing of 1.5 meters.
Baseball
- Outdoor non-contact training and practice physical distancing;
- No more than 10 people.
Basketball
- Outdoor activity only;
- Non-contact skills using basketball — passing, shooting, defending, screens and team structure (offence and defence) and practice physical distancing;
- No more than groups of 10.
Canoeing
- Full training.
Golf
- Full training and recreation activities;
- Practice physical distancing;
- Minimal use of shared equipment (encouraged to BYO) including clubs and have hygiene practices in place.
Netball
- Outdoor activities only;
- No more than groups of 10;
- Skills using netball passing, shooting, defending;
- Small group training based on skills with set drills, non-contact/defending/attacking/match play drills;
- Practice physical distancing.
- prostheses) will require regular cleaning (for all levels).
Shooting
- Continuation of athlete-led preparation at home;
- Coach-led training including live fire in small groups at authorised outdoor venues (i.e. clubs/ranges);
- Outdoor activity only;
- No more than 10 people.
Tennis
- Outdoor activity only.
- Full training on court, singles or doubles and no more than 10 people.
Volleyball
- Outdoor activity only;
- Small group skill sessions only and no more than 10 people.